Lawyer for former reporter appeals sex assault sentence
Posted April 15, 2013 2:48 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The lawyer for a former local reporter, convicted of child sex assault, is pleading for the courts to ease his client’s restrictions.
Ron Bencze’s defence has made its case before BC’s highest court.
He is appealing his four year sentence as well as a 20-year ban on public places where kids are found.
His lawyer Eric Gottardi calls that ban “very unusual” and says it’s one of the longest in provincial history.
“When his kids have kids, he won’t be able to go to their outings, so it’s a very extreme order and we’re hoping the court will intervene to change that.”
Benzce was sent to prison last year for sexually assaulting a young family friend.
Gottardi says Bencze is currently at the Mountain Institution in Agassiz.
“He’s holding up alright. It’s obviously a very difficult place to be, and as we hear time and again, he hasn’t been able to get any access to any treatment. He had a top of the line psychologist, and he was in treatment. As you heard, he was doing extremely well, and now it’s been close to a year, and he hasn’t seen a hint of treatment there.”
One man who listened to the arguments in court says Bencze’s crime has torn through everyone who knows the families involved.
Bencze was a reporter at Global TV, and previous to that, this station.
The BC Court of Appeal has reserved judgment until a later date.
